Scott Mitchell: Toronto Blue Jays disappointed with early results from starting pitchers

TORONTO — Bats have been under the microscope since last summer, but the reason the Toronto Blue Jays are hovering around the .500 mark to start the season isn't just a weak offense.

The strength of this team was not just strength.

“To be honest with you, I'm still disappointed with our starters,” veteran starter Chris Bassitt said after a strong start against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night. “This is my third start and both starts have been terrible, I don't think I can help it. The main thing for us is to promote the beginner. I'm confident in the guys we have, but the first 10, 11 games outside of (Jose) Berrios, it was tough.

The numbers confirm this opinion.

Last year, the Jays rotation was third in baseball with a 3.85 ERA as Kevin Gausman, Berrios, Bassitt and Yusei Kikuchi all made 30-plus starts, a rarity in today's game.

It's amazing to think that it would have been even better when Alec Manoa came out in 2022.

Heading into Wednesday's series finale with the M's, this year's rotation had a 5.09 ERA, 24th in baseball, and that's after two strong starts from Berrios and Bassitt, which ranked 28th in baseball. series.

That seems to be starting to change, and all eyes will be on Gausman's start against the Colorado Rockies on Friday.

No pitcher is more important to this team, and an ace-like outing, now close to being fully formed, will answer a lot of questions after his velocity dipped in his last outing.

“It was the first cold start of the year and for some reason I just couldn't get my body going,” said Gausman, who has an uncharacteristic 9.53 ERA through two starts and watched his fastball drop more than three full ticks last Saturday in New. York.

“Obviously, that's not an excuse, I've had a lot of games where I didn't feel good about my body. Obviously, because I'm still developing, it had a lot to do with my pitching. Just rinse it off.”

Berrios, with three quality starts on the year and a clean 1.45 ERA, has been the anchor so far.

“He was like what we saw from the first day of spring training,” Gausman said. “He came in, there were a lot of guys who looked good early, but he looked special from his first pen to his last trip of the spring and he really carried it into the season.

“Honestly, I feel like he's one of the most underrated aces in baseball because that's what people expect from him.”

One of the best rotations in baseball has flown under the radar, even though the fan base had very low expectations for the production.

But it's the absolute key to the club's hopes, and any regression, whether simply in terms of performance or health, leaves the Jays in dire straits when it comes to picking up enough wins to clinch a third straight wild card berth. .

“We've all had our struggles as a group, but that's our strength and we know that's our strength and we'll bounce back,” Bassitt said.

Gausman agreed.

“Like you said, it hurt everybody except Berrios,” Gausman said. “Kikuchi played great in New York, so it was good to see him play well, but for the rest we have to do it, improve the rhythm.
“We know how good we were last year, but we know we can be even better. We know that to be good you have to play well, and you can't be good at one aspect of the game anymore. It's not a thing.”

Kikuchi got the ball rolling on Wednesday and Gausman hopes to continue that Friday, but the fifth round of the rotation could be discussed next week after Bowden Francis starts on Saturday.

The 28-year-old rookie has pitched better recently than his 12.96 ERA suggests, showing some swing and miss with his curveball, but there's hope for options in the future.

It's no coincidence that Manoa went to rehab that day at Triple-A Buffalo and the former Cy Young finalist's start was under the microscope.

His 94 mph heater in his last start means he's moved past the shoulder problem that sidelined him during spring training, and that's a great sign.

However, the order is another story.

Combining his lone spring training and lone tune-up over the weekend, Manoa struck out five, struck out four and allowed 10 runs in just 3.1 innings.

The outcome from Manoah's Triple-A start will depend on the pitching, and no matter how the first one goes, 26-year-old right-hander Jace Brass will need a few more outings to prove his worth. ready to return to the big leagues.

Last year, he was demoted in June and promoted again after learning a lesson.

Currently, Manoa is the lottery ticket of this rotation and the club is hoping that one of them, Ricky Tiedemann or Yariel Rodriguez, can help in the not too distant future.